On Thursday, 20-year-old University of Stanford student Brock Turner was sentenced to 6 months in county jail after sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, much of the internet’s conversation has converged on a heart-wrenching, beautifully argued, deeply felt statement the woman read to him in court. It’s a devastating account of the survivor’s revictimization during her trial, a powerful indictment of the lighter sentences imposed on white, wealthy sex criminal, and a haunting depiction of how rape culture exerts its influence on college campuses and in courts of law.
In handing down the more lenient sentence – prosecutors had decided that Turner could spend up to at least 14 years in state prison – Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky stated that “a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him.” So, it’s being tossed around that he’ll only serve three of the six months, and he will also have to register as a sex offender. Oh, is that all?
Online commenters have rightfully criticized Persky for the sentencing in the harshest way, claiming that it upholds a rape-culture that forgives the actions of perpetrators, while downplaying the trauma experienced by victims. And you know what, I’m right there with them.
Now, the internet has an opposing letter to read: a defense of Brock Turner reportedly written by his father, Dan Turner. It was posted early Sunday morning by Michele Dauber, a Stanford law professor and sociologist who led the school’s revision of its sexual assault policies in recent years, the letter appears to have been written prior to Brock’s sentencing to advocate for probation only, in lieu of any jail time.
The generous decision for Turner’s sentencing was an echo of Dan Turner’s letter, which essentially argues the Brock has already suffered enough for his crimes. Dan Turner defends his son with nearly every thin, pathetic excuse his son’s victim demolished in her 7,200 word essay; he elevates all the rape-apologist, victim-diminishing tropes she exposes as chauvinistic garbage.
#brockturner father: son not “violent” only got “20 mins of action” shouldn’t have to go to prison. @thehuntingroundpic.twitter.com/IFECJs687b
— Michele Dauber (@mldauber) June 5, 2016
“His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life. …He has no prior criminal history and has never been violent to anyone including his actions on the night of Jan 17th 2015. Brock can do so many positive things as a contributor to society and is totally committed to educating other college age students about the dangers of alcohol consumption and sexual promiscuity. By having people like Brock educate other on college campuses is how society can begin to break the cycle of binge drinking and its unfortunate results.”
Now that we’re all on the same page, and caught up to speed, here’s what I would like to say to Judge Persky and Brock Turner, along with his f*cked up father.
Are you f*cking serious? In what world does binge drinking outweigh a rape victim’s life? In what world do we let a rapist blame “sexual promiscuity” on their victim; so because she was drunk and a woman, that automatically makes it okay to take advantage of her? In what world do we argue that being convicted for sexually assaulting a woman ruining his appetite for steaks a reason to give someone a lighter sentence?
Wake up assh*les, no prior convictions only matters if you’ve ever been caught peeing in public, not if you f*cking raped someone. The severity of rape is not judged on the length of time it took. So according to Dan Turner’s theory, I could go and murder Brock in two seconds and get what? Probation? Sounds like a good deal, right? Almost makes it worth it.
I’m actually sort of shocked that Brock’s father didn’t ask the two men who tackled him, after seeing him in “action”, to formally apologize to Brock.
Newsflash, your son has to register as a sexual offender because that’s what he is, was, and always will be. It’s supposed to interfere with his life. Your son destroyed a single life in a matter of 20 minutes by raping them and you’re worried that he can’t enjoy steaks anymore? How about you just teach your son not to be a f*cking rapist and respect woman instead of demoralizing them for “20 minutes of action”? If you ask me you failed as a parent, and your son failed as a contributor to society.
I honestly hope that neither Dan Turner or Judge Persky have a daughter. People like you two scare me because if I ever have a daughter I’m not going to worry about boys who chase her around the playground with a dead bug, I’m going to have to worry about the boys whose fathers raise them to prey on unconscious women and have no remorse. It’s people like you who make this world an ugly place to live in.
“These verdicts have broken and shattered him.”
No, him raping a woman did that. His “non-violent” actions did that. His morals that you raised him on did that. You’ve been so focused on how this trial and verdict have affected your son but not once did you stop and question how your son’s victim is handling this.
I’ve been in her shoes before, and I can tell you that her 7,200 word essay to your son wasn’t written for fun or for the hell of it. You may not be able to feel her heartbreak in every single word she read out loud in the courtroom, but that’s the thing, you only got a glimpse of what she feels like. You won’t understand because you’re awful human beings, but let me tell you something waking up hating your body and wanting to rip your own skin off because it doesn’t feel like your skin anymore – because it was tainted, destroyed, and violated – is one of the worst feelings in the world. No matter how strong she is and turns out to be at the end of all this, she will still wake up everyday for the rest of her young life and immediately think of how something doesn’t feel right.
Brock, you’ve completely altered this woman’s identity, future, body, mindset, and life. You’ve violated every aspect of her being. You’ve wrecked havoc on this woman’s life, you’ve changed her family’s lives as well, and not for the better. You’ve ripped apart this woman’s worth, privacy, energy, time, sense of safety, intimacy, confidence, and voice. And if you ask me, 6 months isn’t close to being enough time to make up for the hell you put her through.
You may have gotten off easy with this sentence but because of you and your non-violent “actions” your victim received a life sentence of torture because you don’t know how to be a f*cking person, because Judge Persky doesn’t know how to properly punish people like you, and because your father, Dan Turner, didn’t know how to properly raise you.
I’ll leave you with this Brock, I honestly hope you never experience the kind of hell you put her through because I would never wish that on anyone, but I do hope someone makes you their b*tch in prison because if it’s less than “20 minutes of action”, it doesn’t really count… right Dan Turner?
Featured image via “Brock Allen Turner” by permanently scatterbrained / CC BY 2.0
